Earlier this month we gave students from our membership institutions the opportunity to attend the IoD’s (Institute of Director’s) Annual Convention. As a part of our ‘Members Visit’ series, three students tell us - in their own words -  how the event went for them! First up is Kristian Ross from Gateshead.

I was delighted to represent Gateshead College last Friday at the Royal Albert Hall for the prestigious IOD Annual Convention event.

Gateshead College’s values mirror those of the IOD itself, we strive to achieve and we know that like the Institute of Directors we have entrepreneurial minds that are the best in their chosen fields. The convention itself provided a great insight to some of the top business around not just Europe, but the globe.

In my opinion, Andy Bird of Disney was the most intriguing speaker, going over his brief plans for Disneyland Shanghai really hit home to how a business can reach out so far whilst maintaining its family image and make profit. Will Hayward of Buzzfeed also gave us an insight into the digital revolution that is starting to grip everyone and once you get past the funny articles and GIF’s, you realise that Buzzfeed provides so much more.

The lunch was spectacular and as the afternoon carried on, it was great to see that a British company like Tata’s Jaguar-Land Rover is on the up following financial hardships during the recession. All in all, it was a honour to be at such a prestigious event along with so many bright minds associated with NACUE and I look forward to hopefully attending once more in 2015.

Kristian was one of many students from our membership institutions who were invited out to experience the conference.